Don’t have any friends

Nope you're definitely not alone with this.

All throughout my school years I wore the Isa-Mask. When I wore my mask I was a little more confident and anxiety and social problems didn't bother me as much. At school this allowed me to a degree to get close to others and I hoped it would help me to make friends. Did it? Nope. The problem was after school when everyone wanted to hang out or go shopping I always said no because I was scared and knew that the shops would be packed and that I'd struggle to talk with them...

And it's the same now. Even at work I wear my mask, it's another me, a better me but after work I have to tell people no to going out for a drink or something to eat. I wish I could make some friends but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I have my mask but it only seems to help me when I'm at work, anything or anywhere else and it's gone and I'm left an anxious mess.

Nope you're definitely not alone with this.

All throughout my school years I wore the Isa-Mask. When I wore my mask I was a little more confident and anxiety and social problems didn't bother me as much. At school this allowed me to a degree to get close to others and I hoped it would help me to make friends. Did it? Nope. The problem was after school when everyone wanted to hang out or go shopping I always said no because I was scared and knew that the shops would be packed and that I'd struggle to talk with them...

And it's the same now. Even at work I wear my mask, it's another me, a better me but after work I have to tell people no to going out for a drink or something to eat. I wish I could make some friends but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I have my mask but it only seems to help me when I'm at work, anything or anywhere else and it's gone and I'm left an anxious mess.

Isadora said:

I have my mask but it only seems to help me when I'm at work, anything or anywhere else and it's gone and I'm left an anxious mess

Yep, I can definitely relate to that. I find family gatherings particularly stressful and exhausting because I was so much better at masking when I was growing up, but now that I'm diagnosed and live with my partner I'm more accustomed to being myself, so it takes a mammoth amount of energy and concentration to be the (masked) person my family know. At work, I have my professional hat on, so it's easier as almost all interactions are task-oriented, but I also try to avoid all the social stuff too, just say I have something urgent to finish etc. so can't come.